♪ ♪ >> oh, god full of compassion, grant perfect peace in your presence among the holy and the pure, tole souls of all of our loved ones that perrished on that horrible day. they have gone to their eternal home, messenger of mercy we beseech you, remember all of their worthy and righteous deeds that they performed in the land of the

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living. may their souls be bound up in the bond of life eternal. there is no death, just transformation. may they rest in peace. and let us say amen. >> amen. >> please be seated. >> and let us unite our hearts in prayer, oh god of love and mercy, we come before you this night with broken hearts. we offer you our tears and our pain, our anger and our sorrow. oh, lord, there was a hole so large, we wonder if even you

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in your greatness can fill it as we grieve and mourn for those who are lost. each light that sits before us is a light that's been lost to our world. so many innocents, so many brave, lord, all we can do is throw ourselves upon your tender mercies, trusting that you hear our prayers. we know those who are lost because they're ours, lord, not names on some list, but our mothers, or sisters, our brothers, or friends, kindred all because if we did not know them ourselves, we know someone who did.

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and so, we pray, lord for all the souls lost and all the families and friends who are so torn by grief, for in this moment we are all your childr children, a family related by your love. so help us to care for these families in their sorrow and for each other in ours. may they feel the healing embrace of a neighborhood, a town, a state, a nation, a world. help us to forever remember that we embrace the grieving as our own and bring us together as one family to live together in peace and amity. help us to share the lights

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that stand before us. help us to carry them out into this world and share it with a world so in sorrow and so in need. we pray all of this in the name of your love as we all say, amen.

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>> this is an interfaith service at newtown high school. members of clergy, various churches, synagogues, places of faith throughout the region. next up, kathy adams shepherd, director of episcopal church will read psalm 23, all of these killed friday, the 26 inside sandy hook elementary school.

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we invite you to join with us in psalm 23, in any way that you know it in your heart. it doesn't have to be the words here. >> the lord is my shepard, he shall mott want leadeth besides the still waters, he restores my soul. he leadeth me in the path of the righteousness for his namesake, yea, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. thou prepares the table before

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me in the presence of mine enemy. thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runeth over. surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and i will dwell in the house of the lord forever. let us pray. god in heaven, we thank you for your presence with us here on earth. we know that the children who were lost in the tragedy first belonged to you before they belonged to us. and we commit their souls to you, to your loving eternal care. we thank you, lord that they

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are now in a place of no more sickness, no more sadness, no more suffering and no more sorr sorrow and finally no more sin in the presence of you, his savior and ours. dear lord, as we live the children that we have lost in your hands, we ask that by your grace you would empower us to bless and comfort the children who are still here in our hands. please be with them in a special way as they grieve the loss of siblings and friends. life will never be the same for them and yet, we ask that you would help these precious little ones to carry the

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spirits of their lost loved ones in their hearts as they go along living their lives to its fullest according to your will for each of these girls and boys. and, lord, we ask most of all that you would use us to be a source of your healing in the midst of their wounds, that you would use those of us whose children are trying to hope as a source of your hope in the midst of any hopelessness, as you are the god of hope. use us to replace their anxiety with your peace as you are the god of peace. and please, fill their hearts with the sense of your love,

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your presence, your power and most of all, a sense of your care, not knowing what the future holds, but knowing that you hold it as you hold these precious little ones who are still with us today in your hands through our hands. and, lord, we ask in the name of the one who says, unless we become like little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of god. make us all child-like and not childish in our thoughts, in our words, in our attitudes and actions and behaviors, not only before others, but before you that we may look to you for better days ahead and that

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we may fulfill your purpose for us on this earth. we pray all of this in the name of our precious lord and savior, jesus, amen. >> that was the pastor from the new hope community church. this is an interfaith vigil, prayer service remembering the 26 people killed and there you see candles in front of the podium there, 26 of them to

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remember the 20 children and six adults killed in sandy hook elementary school. next a reading from the koran and a prayer from el hadya islamic center and prayer for the emergency responders from the visitation of spiritual growth, james sibley newtown united baptist church. you see the president looking on in the auditorium.

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♪ >> . [singing prayer] ♪

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♪ ♪ ♪ >> in the name of god,

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compassionate and merciful. the muslim community in newtown, connecticut, and the nation join with our fellow americans grieving for those who died in this senseless tragedy and praying for them and their families. we ask god to grant those lost a special place in paradise and we ask their families to be granted the strength to endure the unendurable. it is in such times of almost unbearable loss that we seek the comfort with our creator and that artificial divisions of faith fall away to reveal a nation of mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, all united in a desire to bring renewed hope. the koran, text tells us that

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god's mercy and compassion are without limits and always available for those who ask. god says when my servants question you about me, tell me that i am here. i answer the prayer of every person who calls on me. chapter 2, verse 186. the koran, in the koran god also says give glad tidings to those who endure the patience, who when afflicted with calamity say, we belong to god and to him we shall return. such are the people on whom there are blessings and mercy from god, chapter 2, verse 155 and 157. so let us all of every faith, of every background, pray for god's comfort at this time of unbreakable-- heart breaking tragedy.

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with every difficulty there is ease, barely with every difficulty there is ease. chapter 94 verse 1 through 5, 5 through 6. >> a prayer for the first responders, let us pray. holy god, many of these men and women you called into service when they were just children. they wanted to be police officers and firefighters and care for those that were in need, lord. you gave them gifts for their life to serve. you asked them to pay a high price for all the skills that

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they have been given, for the strength that they have. you equipped them, you gave them a willingness to learn, to train, to study. you gave them a willingness to serve in the middle of the night when the call would come in and you gave them the willingness to respond when this town needed them the most. lord we thank you for those in this town that responded, but we thank you also for those throughout the state that came when the need was given. we thank you, lord, for their gifts and their strength and their courage. so we ask you, lord, to walk with them in the days ahead,

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to surround them with your angels. to give them people who will listen to their story, to listen to what they saw that was not for anyone to ever s see. lord, we place each and every one of these men and women in your care, but we will be faithful to them. we will care for them. we will continue to equip them and we will keep them ever in our prayers. amen.

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amen. >> . >> bret: listening live to the interfaith vigil at newtown high school, in newtown, connecticut remembering the 26 people killed at sandy hook elementary school on friday, 20 of them children. next we'll hear a reading and prayer from the bahigh tradition and john woodall and counselors, clergy and care givers from ecumenical chaplain of the luthren home.

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>> for the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents, for all of you today, this is a, part of a sacred text from the bahigh faith written as a letter to a mother mourning for her child and i adapted it for this evening. >> although the loss of a child is indeed heart breaking and beyond the limits of human endurance, as one who knows and understands, is assured

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that the child has not been lost, but rather, has stepped from this world into another and you will find them in the divine realm. that reunion shall be for eternity, while in this world separation is inevitable and bring with it a burning grief. praise be unto god that thou has faith, is turning thy face toward the everlasting kingdom and believeth in the existence of a heavenly world. be not disconsulate, do not languish, do not sigh, neither wail more weep, for education and mourning deeply affect the soul, their soul in the divine realm.

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realm. >> that beloved child addressed from the hidden world, oh, thou kind mother and father, thank divine providence that i have been freed from a small and gloomy cage and like the birds of the meadows have soared to the divine world, a world which is spacious, ever joyous, therefore, lament not, oh, mother and father, and be not grieved. i am not of the lost, nor have i been obliterated and destroyed. i've shaken off the mortal form and have raised my banner in the spiritual world. following this separation is ever lasting companionship. thou shalt find me in the

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heaven of the lord immersed in an ocean of light. >> god, we'd call you by many names. great spirit, higher power, divine one. but however we address you, you are always father and mother to us all, and we are your children, we are your fami family. we ask your blessing, lord, upon the counselors and clergy and the care givers among us, they have great passion for what they do.

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when everyone does their passi passion, we arrive at compassion and we thank you. we know that you're most aware of their needs. they, too, become tired and sometimes close to burning o out, how much we need one another. when you call jeremiah or amos or baruk and all of your precious apostles and prophets, they hedged at first, but each time in turn they gave their yes and they followed you, knowing that you were always among them, always supporting them. they were conduits for your eyes and your ears and your voice and your hands.

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they were the clay knowing that you always were the potter and they were resilient in your hands. when jesus felt the need to get away for some respite himself, he went to the mountains or into the wilderness or out to the seashore. and the great numbers of people in need always followed. tired and drained, as he was, he looked on them with compassi compassion. anoint all your people, lord, all of those who minister to you as they minister to one another and especially this week as they minister to the body, mind and spirit, to the whole community of sandy hook

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in newtown, a model for the nation, a model for the world. and we thank you for the world suppo support, calling, e-mailing, texting their love and their commitment to be one with us. use them, lord. take the passion that each one has and transform it totally, completely, into your spirit of compassion. and we ask this all, amen, amen.

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>> a community of different favorites, grieving together in this interfaith vigil. next, jack tanner, minister of newtown christian church reading scripture, romans 8, then we'll hear from a local government official, first select woman patricia lodra, connecticut governor dan malloy will then introduce president obama for his remarks to this crowd. again, you're looking live at newtown, high school in newtown, connecticut and this school tragedy that they're dealing with after friday's shooting.

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shooting. newtown is a place that loves children above all. families move to newtown because we are a caring and loving community. we are also a place that has great pride in our schools, pride that propels the students in those schools with their outstanding teachers and administrators through high achievement and great personal worth. the horror that was visited upon our sandy hook school was not deserved. it is the angry and desperate act of a confused young man. there is no blame to be laid on us, but there is a great burden and a great challenge that we emerge whole, that these families devastated by unspeakable harm know and trust that we love them and will do everything we can to

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help them heal. i know that newtown will prevail that we will not fall to acts of violence. it is a defining moment for our town, but it does not define us. we are newtown, a special and caring place. we are defined by acts of courage, by acts of love and by our continuing commitment and love for our children and families. it is my pleasure, ladies and gentlemen, to present to you governor dan malloy. [applaus [applause] >> pat, thank you for all of

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the great work that you have done for this community in the last three days, to the police chief and to the superintendent of schools, thank you for your great service as well, to all of the first responders, thank you. when i came in to the hall, one of the first songs to be played on the piano was "amazing which is fitting for any number of reasons. it's become an anthem for first responders. it has great words. it also speaks of the power of faith. amazing grace was written by a former sea captain engaged in the-- >> we're going to take a brief pause as we listen to the connecticut governor dan

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malloy to bring into the full fox broadcast network. when we are called upon, dare i say required-- ♪ >> good evening from washington, i'm bret baier, we're just minutes away from president obama speaking in newtown, connecticut as the nation joins that community in mourning after the killing of 26 people inside sandy hook, elementary school, 20 of them children, ages six and seven years old. speaking now, connecticut governor dan malloy, who will introduce president obama. let's listen in. >> to survive that which has befallen this community, these families, these spouses. that which has happened and is unimaginable and unthinkable and was never, we thought,

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intended to be visited upon us here in connecticut or in newtown, or in sandy hook. i choose to think about the fact that in the coming days we will officially enter winter. and that is always to be followed by the spring. let me assure you that in winter each time i see the beginning of a snowfall, i will be thinking of those 27 souls lost just a few days ago. each time the day gets a little longer, i will think and dream of the lives that might have been and the lives that were so full of grace.

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and when the flowers start to come out of the ground and when they rise up, i will know that we are in touch with those that we've lost in the last few days. we will go on. we will find strength. faith is a gift, as is our ability to support one another in our greater community. to all of you, i extend my most profound condolences on behalf of all of your fellow citizens for what you have seen, what you have witnessed and what you have personally experienced. we will move on. we will never forget. we will in many ways be made stronger for what has transpired. and we will get better.

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we are blessed today to have with us the president of the united states, who upon being with pat and i just a little while ago, said that the most difficult day of his presidency was friday when he heard the news of that which had befallen this community. i assured him that connecticut, newtown, and sandy hook are strong and i welcomed him on your behalf to our community. i now introduce the president of the united states. [applause]

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[applause] >> thank you. thank you, governor. to all the families, first responders, the community of newtown, clergy, guests, scripture tells us do not lose hea heart. though outwardly, we are wasting away inwardly we are being renewed day by day. for light momentary troubles are achieving eternal glory

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that far outweighs them all and we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. for we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from god. an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. we gather here in memory of 20 beautiful children and six remarkable adults. they lost their lives in a school that could have been any school. in a quiet town full of good and decent people, that could be any town in america. here in newtown, i come to

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offer the love and prayers of a nation. i am very mindful that mere words cannot match the depths of your sorrow, nor can they heal your wounded hearts. i can only hope it helps for you to know that you're not alone in your grief. that our world, too, has been torn apart. that all across this land of ours we have wept with you. we've pulled our children tight. and you must know that whatever measure of comfort we can provide, we will provide it. whatever portion of sadness that we can share with you to ease this heavy load, we will

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gladly bear it. newtown, you are not alone. as these difficult days have unfolded, we've alyou've also id us, stories of strength and resolve and sacrifice. we know that when danger arrived in the halls of sandy hook elementary, the school staff did not flinch, they did not hesitate. dawn hochsprung, mary sherlach, vicky soto, lauren russeau, rachel devino and ann

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marie murphy, they all responded as we all hoped we might respond in such terrifying circumstances, with courage and with love, giving their lives to protect the children in their care. we know that there were other teachers who barricaded them selves inside classrooms and kept steady through it all. and reassured their students by saying, wait for the good guys, they're coming. show me your smile. and we know that good guys came, the first responders who raced to the scene, helping those in harm's way to safety and comfort those in need, holding at bay their own shock

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and their own trauma because they had a job to do. and others needed them more. and then, there were the scenes of the school children, helping one another, holding each other, dutifully following instructions the way that young children sometimes do. one child even tried to encourage a grownup by saying, i know karate, so, it's okay, i'll lead the way out. as a community, you've inspired us, newtown. in the face of indescribable violence, in the face of unconscionable evil, you've

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looked out for each other, you've cared for one another and you've loved one another. this is how newtown will be remember remembered. and with time and god's grace, that love will see you through. through. but we as a nation, we are left with some hard questions. you know, someone once described the joy and anxiety of parenthood as the equivalent of having your heart outside of your body all the time. walking around. with their very first cry, this most precious, vital part

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of ourselves, our child, is suddenly exposed to the world, possible mishaps or malice. and every parent knows there's nothing we will not do to shield our children from harm. and yet, we also know that with that child's very first step, and each step after that, they're separating from us. that we won't, that we can't always be there for them. they'll suffer sickness and setbacks and broken hearts, and disappointments. and we learn that our most important be job is to give them what they need to become self-reliant and capable and resilient ready to face the

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world without fear. and we know we can't do this by ourselves. it comes as a shock at a certain point when you realize no matter how much you love these kids, you can't do it by yourself. that this job of keeping our children safe and teaching them well is something we can only do together. with the help of friends and neighbors, the help of a community, and the help of a nation. and in that way, we come to realize that we bear a responsibility for every child because we're counting on everybody else to help look after ours. and we're all parents. that they're all our children.

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this is our first task, caring for our children. it's our first job. if we don't get that right we don't get anything right. that's how, as a society, we will be judged. and by that measure, can we truly say as a nation that we're meeting our obligations. can we honestly say that we're doing enough to keep our childr children, all of them, safe from harm? can we claim as a nation that we're altogether there, letting them know that they're loved and teaching them to love in return?

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can we say that we're truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose? i've been reflecting on this the last few days and if we're honest with ourselves, the answer is no. we're not doing enough. and we will have to change. since i've been president, this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by mass shootings. fourth time we've hugged survivors, the fourth time we've consoled the families of victims. and in between there have been an endless series of deadly shootings across the country, almost daily reports of

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victims, many of them children. in small towns and big cities across america, victims who much of the time their only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. we can't tolerate this anymore. these tragedies must end. and to end them, we must change. we will be told that the causes of such violence are complex and that is true. no single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can't be an excuse for inaction. surely, we can do better than this. if there's even one step we

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can take to save another child or another parent or another town from the grief that's visited tucson and aurora and oak creek and newtown, and communities from columbine to blacksberg before that, surely we have an obligation to try. in the coming weeks i'll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens from law enforcement to mental health professionals, to parents and educators, in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this because what choice do we have? we can't accept events like this as routine.

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are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the face of such carnage? that the politics are too ha hard? are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year, somehow the price of our freedom? in all the world's religions, so many of them represented here today, start with a question. why are we here? what gives our life meaning? what gives our acts purpose? we know our time on this earth

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is fleeting. we know that we will each have our share of pleasure and pain, that even after we chan chase after some earthly goal, whether it's wealth, power, fame or simple comfort, we will in some fashion fall short of what we had hoped. we know that no matter how good our intentions we'll all stumbl sometimes in some way. we'll make mistakes. we'll experience hardships. and even when we're trying to do the right thing, we know that much of our time will be spent groping through the darkness, so often unable to discern god's heavenly plans. there's only one thing we can be sure of and that is the love that we have for our children, for our families,

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for each other. the warmth of a small child's embrace, that is true. the memories we have of them, the joy that they bring, the wonder we see through their eyes, that fierce and boundless love we feel for them, a love that takes us out of ourselves and binds us to something larger, we know that's what matters. we know we're always doing right when we're taking care of them. when we're teaching them well. when we're showing acts of kindness. we don't go wrong when we do that. that's what we can be sure

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of. and that's what you, the people of newtown, have reminded us. and that's how you've inspired us. you remind us what matters. that's what should drive us forward in everything we do. for as long as god sees fit to keep us on this earth. let the little children come to me, jesus said, and do not hinder them, for such belongs the kingdom of heaven. charlotte, daniel, olivia, josephine, anna, dylan,

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madeline, katherine, chase, jesse, james, grace, e mcmilie, caroline, noah, jessica, benjamin, alison, god has called them all home, for those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on and make our country worth think of their memory. may god bless and keep those we've lost in his heavenly place. may he grace those we still have with his holy comfort and

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may he bless and watch over this community and the united states of america. >> . >> bret: president obama speaking just under 18 minutes in the role of consoler in chief, saying newtown, you are not alone. the president mentioned teachers who didn't make it out of sandy hook school, and just as he read the names the sound of weeping in the auditorium. the president said decisions lie ahead and not doing enough, and he steered clear of policy prescriptions, but said we need to change. tonight he focused on healing, healing newtown and a nation shocked by an unthinkable crime. i'm bret baier in washington, for those of you on fox broadcasting, we return you to

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regularly scheduled programming, continuous updates on foxnews.com and on fox news channel our coverage continues right now. >> the coverage continues and we listen to the prayers and the interfaith vigil. >> there's not just a country standing behind us, but there's a world standing behind us, the word i know as difficult as they were to hear from some for consolation to us all. i want to thank the governors and state officials who have been by our side since day one, they've been a remarkable reminder to us of their humanity and their care for us, but most of all, i want to

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thank a incredibn incredible wo led us through the most dark periods of our lives (applause) when the storms of the past years, i thought those were the hardest past lives, and when i saw her in front of sandy hook school, those were the darkest days. pat thank you for being leaders to us through these difficult times and now this final part of our prayer is for us, the people of newtown.

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these are the words of the apostle paul as he writes to the church at rome. what then shall we say in response to this? if god is for us, who can be against us? he who did not spare his own son, but gave up for all of us. embraces us and give us all things. whom will bring charges against those whom god has chosen? it is god who justifies, who is he who condemns. christ jesus who died and after that raised to life is at the right-hand of god and interceding for us. who shall separate us from the love of christ, shall trouble or hardship or purpersecution o nakedness, and as written,

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your faith all day long we're considered to be sleep to be slaughtered. no, in all of these things we're more than congress for those who loved us for i am convinced that neither death nor life. angels nor demons, the present nor the future or height or death anything else, in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of god that is in christ jesus our lord. [applaus [applause]. so we stand now in prayer for ourselves. our hearts are broken, but our spirits are strengthened by the power of god's goodness and his ever creating love and by the generous hearts of a community who truly cares and we have shown to the world our